Powered Frunk Installation Guide - Satonic Kit

[blonky]

Just done the powered frunk install on my Model Y (build date 26/04/2023 from Shanghai with HEPA) using the Satonic kit. The Hannshows and EVOffer kits will be similar

I heavily referred to the video by The Imperfect Tesla but found a couple things differed and thought I'd share some tips on the process - I still recommend using theirs as the main point of reference but I've taken some detailed photos of where the video missed or are more relevant to the RHD market

Overall this took me 2 hours and 15 minutes; it's not difficult but I spent most of the time trying to reattach the new struts in a very confined space.
There's only 3 key tasks in the project:
1. Replace the struts with the powered struts
2. Attach the new latching mechanism to the OEM one to allow the new motor to unlatch the frunk
3. Attach the wiring harnesses and brainbox

Tools:
6mm hex (or 5mm?) – preferably with a ratchet
10mm socket
13mm spanner
Needlenose pliers
Wood plank or broom handle (to hold the frunk up)
Pick tool
Flathead screwdriver (for prying)
Most are included with the Satonic kit

Tips:

• Tight spaces meant a lot of time was spent getting the struts in – in fact half of the project time for me
• The included tools were pretty crap and the ratchet gave up immediately so best if you have your own tools
• The new hood struts were a challenge to mount due to the space constraints so try practicing removal and reattachment using the first OEM strut you remove. It is very tight on one side so small arms and a lot of patience is key
• The car would turn on the AC every 10-20 minutes for no reason which was very noisy and would draw in dirt without the filter. Turning off on the touchscreen worked and so did turning it on and off in the app each time
• The alarm went off when I reattached the latch plugs as the car had locked itself and then detected an open frunk, triggering the sentry alarm. Ensure the car is unlocked or leave a door/trunk/boot open during the project to avoid this.
• It’s not necessary to remove power as only the 12v / 16v runs through the frunk area and not the 400v battery. Use normal caution.
• Some suggest removing the wiper mechanism and cowling, but after removing the wiper bolt I couldn’t remove the wiper or anything else and still accomplished the project.

Engine bay (lol) diagram:

Steps

Part 1: Disassembly
1. Open frunk and remove top cowling by pulling on it around each edge

2. Remove the tub. 4x 10mm bolts. Be aware of the emergency button (next step)

3. For the emergency button, either lift the tub slightly and unplug (you will need something small to push to help release the connector), or use pliers to release the 3 small clips to remove the panel then remove the button connector wire after the tub is out.

4. Remove the HEPA filter section by removing the 2x 10mm bolts (one of each side) + 1 plastic rivet for the washer bottle. Rivet needs a flathead screwdriver or similar to lift the middle part, then you can pull the entire rivet out

Part 2: Struts
5. Work on the harder strut first – for Australia we have RHD vehicles so the right side (sitting in the car) will be first.
6. Prop up the frunk lid with a broom handle or similar
7. Remove the top clip of the strut. The pick tool should be used to pull on the clip away from the ball, then the strut can be pulled away from the hood ball joint

8. Bottom of strut doesn’t need to be removed from the ball as we will remove the ball joint together with it. Use the 13mm spanner to undo the ball joint nut. Tip is to work your right arm deep down into the engine bay around the brake booster, pushing the wiring out of the way, then use your left arm to pass down the spanner once it’s in position as it's super tight down there
9. Remove the strut and lower ball joint together

 

[blonky]

10. Place the new ball joint mount from the kit where you just removed the lower ball joint. It’s a big piece of metal and only fits one way and will stay in position without screws if correct

11. Use the 6mm hex bolt to secure the mount by hand initially, then using the provided ratchet. Same recommendation to squeeze your right arm down there first then pass the bolt using your left hand. I managed to get my 3/8th rachet down there but the hex tool provided is much smaller and easier to work with.
12. Install the new strut with the wiring on the bottom. Both in the kit are exactly the same, there’s no left/right version. You can twist the top half to align it with the strut too if required. Might be easier to feed it from underneath, where you would have your right arm.
13. To attach to the ball joint just push it onto the ball, wiggling back and forth if required. Tip: practice application using the strut and ball joint you just removed. A bit of leverage may help but I found the bottom to be far easier to attach to the top.
14. Attach the top of the strut to the hood ball joint. This will test your patience. Same thing with the other ball joint; you just need to get leverage to get it over the ball joint. I found it easier to use a flathead screwdriver / pick tool to release the clip slightly as I worked it onto the ball joint. Due to the limited space this took me maybe 20 minutes alone and a lot of attempts. Wiggling back and forth helped. Also be aware the hood height needs to be correct for it to align; have a friend lift it to help or use your head to lift it to the right height as you do it or it won’t work.

15. Feed the wiring to the other side of the engine bay
16. Repeat on the other side. Will be exactly the same but with a bit more space for your arms. Once this is done you can remove the broom handle as it will stay up on its own

Part 3: Latch Mechanism

17. Next is the latch. Use a sharpie to trace around the existing latch mechanism before you loosen any bolts – otherwise you will spend a while realigning the frunk lid so best to do this now and save a lot of pain as there is a lot of room for adjustability.
18. Remove the 2x 10mm bolts and unplug the latch mechanism

19. Using the needle nose pliers, unclip the spring
20. Line up the new latch mechanism onto the existing one – they will sit together on the car using those 10mm bolts and should be obvious which way they align – but they won’t hold themselves together until they are on the car

21. Attach the cable from the new latch to the spring hook where you removed the spring from. The new latch has a cable with a hook on the end which goes around the dowel where the spring was pushing on. Then uses the pliers to reattach the spring, which will now be ontop of the hook. The idea is the new latch mechanism uses that hook to pull the same lever the spring uses (remove spring from dowel, place hook over the dowel, replace spring on dowel).
22. Check the tension of the cable by adjusting the 2x nuts on either side of it. I ended up using most of the adjustment to take up as much slack as I could, and there was still a little bit of slack. This still worked fine for me
23. Attach both the original and new latch mechanism to the car using the 2x 10mm bolts, following the outline you drew with the sharpie earlier.
24. Remove the tow hook cover by pushing on the top until it tilts, then pulling under the bottom to pop it out. Feed the emergency release cable through the hole and cable tie it to the existing wires. Reinsert the tow hook cover. They warn you not to pull the emergency cable but I pulled it a bunch of times with no issues, and Satonic support said it’s fine as it resets itself.

Part 4: Wiring Harness

25. Begin on the wiring. The jump start post in the top of the engine bay will be used for the Positive connection; use the included nut to attach the terminal there (noting there is no existing nut). The negative terminal can be attached in multiple places of your choosing; I used the ground on the right side of the engine bay looking in from the front, but there was also a spot in the rear near the Positive jumper terminal that will work. Both use a 10mm bolt

26. Begin attaching the wiring loom from the kit. The connectors are all unique so it’s almost impossible to mess this up. The short wires go to the struts. The longer ones run to the front of the engine bay for the latching mechanisms. Some will be inline; they go between the existing car wiring and the latch. The wider connectors will go to the brainbox or the new latch mechanism. There is also the small beeper which is optional and kinda loud – it will make a sound each time you open and close the frunk. I might put tape over the top of it to make it quieter

The install is pretty much done here. Test the frunk using the app/touchscreen/emergency button (by temporarily attaching it).

Part 5: Resassmbly
27. Cable tie everything down. There is some foam tape that can be used for the brainbox but best to use cable ties on the sides of it too. There’s no dedicate places for anything so just do your best to find a home for it, away from anything that moves or gets hot and doesn’t get in the way of the frunk or other parts on reassembly. Hardest part was finding somewhere to attach the new latch motor but a couple of cable ties sorted that. I placed the brainbox in the top right area of the engine bay ontop of the washer fluid reservoir
28. Reattach the HEPA filter using the 2x long 10mm bolts
29. Reattach the tub using the 4x 10mm bolts and the plastic rivet for the washer filler
30. Reattach the emergency button panel and ensure the button is plugged in. It slides in bottom first, then the top is pushed back until it clicks
31. Reattach the top cowling. Align it and carefully push down around the edges until it all clicks into place

Enjoy your work

 

[GUP-Y]

Very cool! I also completed the install of my Satonic V6S last night. Let's pray the Satonic is more reliable than Hannshow.

 

[ichobu]

Did you install the led frunk lights? After I installed the frunk lights I was not able to power close the frunk with the app. Did you have the same problem? Not sure if this is a led grounding issue or not.

 

[blonky]

Did you install the led frunk lights? After I installed the frunk lights I was not able to power close the frunk with the app. Did you have the same problem? Not sure if this is a led grounding issue or not.

I skipped the frunk lights

Yes Tesla updated their app last month which means you can't close the frunk using their app - you can close it using the car touchscreen, the button in the frunk, using the Tesla iOS shortcut or through a 3rd party app

These are native shortcuts on iPhone; I moved one to my home screen

 

[beachztt]

Great write up and pics. Thanks for taking the time to capture and share!

 

[pharmhog]

10. Place the new ball joint mount from the kit where you just removed the lower ball joint. It’s a big piece of metal and only fits one way and will stay in position without screws if correct
View attachment 964713

11. Use the 6mm hex bolt to secure the mount by hand initially, then using the provided ratchet. Same recommendation to squeeze your right arm down there first then pass the bolt using your left hand. I managed to get my 3/8th rachet down there but the hex tool provided is much smaller and easier to work with.
12. Install the new strut with the wiring on the bottom. Both in the kit are exactly the same, there’s no left/right version. You can twist the top half to align it with the strut too if required. Might be easier to feed it from underneath, where you would have your right arm.
13. To attach to the ball joint just push it onto the ball, wiggling back and forth if required. Tip: practice application using the strut and ball joint you just removed. A bit of leverage may help but I found the bottom to be far easier to attach to the top.
14. Attach the top of the strut to the hood ball joint. This will test your patience. Same thing with the other ball joint; you just need to get leverage to get it over the ball joint. I found it easier to use a flathead screwdriver / pick tool to release the clip slightly as I worked it onto the ball joint. Due to the limited space this took me maybe 20 minutes alone and a lot of attempts. Wiggling back and forth helped. Also be aware the hood height needs to be correct for it to align; have a friend lift it to help or use your head to lift it to the right height as you do it or it won’t work.
View attachment 964714View attachment 964715


15. Feed the wiring to the other side of the engine bay
16. Repeat on the other side. Will be exactly the same but with a bit more space for your arms. Once this is done you can remove the broom handle as it will stay up on its own

Part 3: Latch Mechanism

17. Next is the latch. Use a sharpie to trace around the existing latch mechanism before you loosen any bolts – otherwise you will spend a while realigning the frunk lid so best to do this now and save a lot of pain as there is a lot of room for adjustability.
18. Remove the 2x 10mm bolts and unplug the latch mechanism
View attachment 964716

19. Using the needle nose pliers, unclip the spring
20. Line up the new latch mechanism onto the existing one – they will sit together on the car using those 10mm bolts and should be obvious which way they align – but they won’t hold themselves together until they are on the car
View attachment 964717

21. Attach the cable from the new latch to the spring hook where you removed the spring from. The new latch has a cable with a hook on the end which goes around the dowel where the spring was pushing on. Then uses the pliers to reattach the spring, which will now be ontop of the hook. The idea is the new latch mechanism uses that hook to pull the same lever the spring uses (remove spring from dowel, place hook over the dowel, replace spring on dowel).
22. Check the tension of the cable by adjusting the 2x nuts on either side of it. I ended up using most of the adjustment to take up as much slack as I could, and there was still a little bit of slack. This still worked fine for me
23. Attach both the original and new latch mechanism to the car using the 2x 10mm bolts, following the outline you drew with the sharpie earlier.
24. Remove the tow hook cover by pushing on the top until it tilts, then pulling under the bottom to pop it out. Feed the emergency release cable through the hole and cable tie it to the existing wires. Reinsert the tow hook cover. They warn you not to pull the emergency cable but I pulled it a bunch of times with no issues, and Satonic support said it’s fine as it resets itself.

Part 4: Wiring Harness

25. Begin on the wiring. The jump start post in the top of the engine bay will be used for the Positive connection; use the included nut to attach the terminal there (noting there is no existing nut). The negative terminal can be attached in multiple places of your choosing; I used the ground on the right side of the engine bay looking in from the front, but there was also a spot in the rear near the Positive jumper terminal that will work. Both use a 10mm bolt
View attachment 964718View attachment 964719

26. Begin attaching the wiring loom from the kit. The connectors are all unique so it’s almost impossible to mess this up. The short wires go to the struts. The longer ones run to the front of the engine bay for the latching mechanisms. Some will be inline; they go between the existing car wiring and the latch. The wider connectors will go to the brainbox or the new latch mechanism. There is also the small beeper which is optional and kinda loud – it will make a sound each time you open and close the frunk. I might put tape over the top of it to make it quieter

The install is pretty much done here. Test the frunk using the app/touchscreen/emergency button (by temporarily attaching it).

Part 5: Resassmbly
27. Cable tie everything down. There is some foam tape that can be used for the brainbox but best to use cable ties on the sides of it too. There’s no dedicate places for anything so just do your best to find a home for it, away from anything that moves or gets hot and doesn’t get in the way of the frunk or other parts on reassembly. Hardest part was finding somewhere to attach the new latch motor but a couple of cable ties sorted that. I placed the brainbox in the top right area of the engine bay ontop of the washer fluid reservoir
28. Reattach the HEPA filter using the 2x long 10mm bolts
29. Reattach the tub using the 4x 10mm bolts and the plastic rivet for the washer filler
30. Reattach the emergency button panel and ensure the button is plugged in. It slides in bottom first, then the top is pushed back until it clicks
31. Reattach the top cowling. Align it and carefully push down around the edges until it all clicks into place
View attachment 964720

Enjoy your work

10. Place the new ball joint mount from the kit where you just removed the lower ball joint. It’s a big piece of metal and only fits one way and will stay in position without screws if correct
View attachment 964713

11. Use the 6mm hex bolt to secure the mount by hand initially, then using the provided ratchet. Same recommendation to squeeze your right arm down there first then pass the bolt using your left hand. I managed to get my 3/8th rachet down there but the hex tool provided is much smaller and easier to work with.
12. Install the new strut with the wiring on the bottom. Both in the kit are exactly the same, there’s no left/right version. You can twist the top half to align it with the strut too if required. Might be easier to feed it from underneath, where you would have your right arm.
13. To attach to the ball joint just push it onto the ball, wiggling back and forth if required. Tip: practice application using the strut and ball joint you just removed. A bit of leverage may help but I found the bottom to be far easier to attach to the top.
14. Attach the top of the strut to the hood ball joint. This will test your patience. Same thing with the other ball joint; you just need to get leverage to get it over the ball joint. I found it easier to use a flathead screwdriver / pick tool to release the clip slightly as I worked it onto the ball joint. Due to the limited space this took me maybe 20 minutes alone and a lot of attempts. Wiggling back and forth helped. Also be aware the hood height needs to be correct for it to align; have a friend lift it to help or use your head to lift it to the right height as you do it or it won’t work.
View attachment 964714View attachment 964715


15. Feed the wiring to the other side of the engine bay
16. Repeat on the other side. Will be exactly the same but with a bit more space for your arms. Once this is done you can remove the broom handle as it will stay up on its own

Part 3: Latch Mechanism

17. Next is the latch. Use a sharpie to trace around the existing latch mechanism before you loosen any bolts – otherwise you will spend a while realigning the frunk lid so best to do this now and save a lot of pain as there is a lot of room for adjustability.
18. Remove the 2x 10mm bolts and unplug the latch mechanism
View attachment 964716

19. Using the needle nose pliers, unclip the spring
20. Line up the new latch mechanism onto the existing one – they will sit together on the car using those 10mm bolts and should be obvious which way they align – but they won’t hold themselves together until they are on the car
View attachment 964717

21. Attach the cable from the new latch to the spring hook where you removed the spring from. The new latch has a cable with a hook on the end which goes around the dowel where the spring was pushing on. Then uses the pliers to reattach the spring, which will now be ontop of the hook. The idea is the new latch mechanism uses that hook to pull the same lever the spring uses (remove spring from dowel, place hook over the dowel, replace spring on dowel).
22. Check the tension of the cable by adjusting the 2x nuts on either side of it. I ended up using most of the adjustment to take up as much slack as I could, and there was still a little bit of slack. This still worked fine for me
23. Attach both the original and new latch mechanism to the car using the 2x 10mm bolts, following the outline you drew with the sharpie earlier.
24. Remove the tow hook cover by pushing on the top until it tilts, then pulling under the bottom to pop it out. Feed the emergency release cable through the hole and cable tie it to the existing wires. Reinsert the tow hook cover. They warn you not to pull the emergency cable but I pulled it a bunch of times with no issues, and Satonic support said it’s fine as it resets itself.

Part 4: Wiring Harness

25. Begin on the wiring. The jump start post in the top of the engine bay will be used for the Positive connection; use the included nut to attach the terminal there (noting there is no existing nut). The negative terminal can be attached in multiple places of your choosing; I used the ground on the right side of the engine bay looking in from the front, but there was also a spot in the rear near the Positive jumper terminal that will work. Both use a 10mm bolt
View attachment 964718View attachment 964719

26. Begin attaching the wiring loom from the kit. The connectors are all unique so it’s almost impossible to mess this up. The short wires go to the struts. The longer ones run to the front of the engine bay for the latching mechanisms. Some will be inline; they go between the existing car wiring and the latch. The wider connectors will go to the brainbox or the new latch mechanism. There is also the small beeper which is optional and kinda loud – it will make a sound each time you open and close the frunk. I might put tape over the top of it to make it quieter

The install is pretty much done here. Test the frunk using the app/touchscreen/emergency button (by temporarily attaching it).

Part 5: Resassmbly
27. Cable tie everything down. There is some foam tape that can be used for the brainbox but best to use cable ties on the sides of it too. There’s no dedicate places for anything so just do your best to find a home for it, away from anything that moves or gets hot and doesn’t get in the way of the frunk or other parts on reassembly. Hardest part was finding somewhere to attach the new latch motor but a couple of cable ties sorted that. I placed the brainbox in the top right area of the engine bay ontop of the washer fluid reservoir
28. Reattach the HEPA filter using the 2x long 10mm bolts
29. Reattach the tub using the 4x 10mm bolts and the plastic rivet for the washer filler
30. Reattach the emergency button panel and ensure the button is plugged in. It slides in bottom first, then the top is pushed back until it clicks
31. Reattach the top cowling. Align it and carefully push down around the edges until it all clicks into place
View attachment 964720

Enjoy your work

Hello. I just installed my power frunk kit on my 2023 Model 3 last weekend and it worked great for 1 day then it suddenly stopped raising the hood. The hood will lower by itself, latch and unlatch correctly, but will not raise the hood. Satonic customer support response is sporadic and they are fixated on the cause being the latch positioned incorrectly. I do not believe this is the cause as it is latching and unlatching correctly. I am leaning toward the control unit malfunctioning, I have reset it several times but it still does the same thing. Any ideas?

 

[Luis Hdz]

The connector on the battery is different than the one shown on different videos, so not sure if it's its compatible with this one.
Do you know if there's a device that works with this one?

 

[blonky]

View attachment 1012301
The connector on the battery is different than the one shown on different videos, so not sure if it's its compatible with this one.
Do you know if there's a device that works with this one?

Interesting, maybe you could drill through that metal and add a nut and screw
All you need for that connection is 12v/16v power so there's probably a few ways you could get it wired

Which country/build date model Y do you have?

 

[IsaacTesYoung]

I had the Austin build version of the satonic kit, there's no bracket to install, you have to install a separate bolt to the new power strut and then screw the new bolt in by hand and tighten with spanner. Thank God my wife was around with her thin arms. No way was i getting the job done with my arms on the driver side (USA).

Nice job posting pictures on the most useful upgrade on a Tesla!
I dropped two tools in the car during the project. Recovered one of them that fell down to the skid plate removing that. The other fell down behind the wheel well. I've gotta try to remove the wheel well some time to see if i can get it out. I'm nervous to do that.. hoping i can do it without removing the wheel as i don't own a proper jack (yet).

 

[zoomer0056]

I dropped two tools in the car during the project

Ha, I dropped a socket while working on my C5 Corvette a few years back. I never recovered it and gladly it lodged somewhere and never rolled around.

 

[Luis Hdz]

Interesting, maybe you could drill through that metal and add a nut and screw
All you need for that connection is 12v/16v power so there's probably a few ways you could get it wired

Which country/build date model Y do you have?

Model 3 Performance 2023
Since the connector plate has slots I used an M3 Bolt and washers to keep the connector attached properly & secured it with a nut.
Seems to be working fine

 

[towndrunk]

Model 3 Performance 2023
Since the connector plate has slots I used an M3 Bolt and washers to keep the connector attached properly & secured it with a nut.
Seems to be working fine

Pics?

 

[ImperfectTes]

Hey @blonky, just coming across this post. This is The Imperfect Tesla. Just wanted to say thank you for the shout out. I'm glad the video helped you and awesome job documenting with photos. You rock!!!

 

[blonky]

Hey @blonky, just coming across this post. This is The Imperfect Tesla. Just wanted to say thank you for the shout out. I'm glad the video helped you and awesome job documenting with photos. You rock!!!

Thank you too, I wouldn’t have attempted without your guide

 

[zoomer0056]

Hey @blonky, just coming across this post. This is The Imperfect Tesla. Just wanted to say thank you for the shout out. I'm glad the video helped you and awesome job documenting with photos. You rock!!!

I could not find Satonic soft close for Model S. I went to their website and saw other Tesla models soft close, but not for Model S. Does anyone have a link?

 

[zoomer0056]

I could not find Satonic soft close for Model S. I went to their website and saw other Tesla models soft close, but not for Model S. Does anyone have a link?

It only exists for Models 3 and Y.

 

[ImperfectTes]

It only exists for Models 3 and Y.

The title says 3 key but there’s S options. Have you reached out and confirmed?